What day is the Sabbath?
As Christians, do we still need to keep it holy and what does that look like for us today?
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In my humble opinion, and I could be wrong, God established a rest day. Genesis attributes it to the seventh day of the week of creation. God established the rest day and entrenched it in the Ten Commandments so that stiff-necked people would not forego a rest day for work or financial benefits. He established Sabat as the rest day because it is defined and measurable. Without it, the Law could not police it. Since the New Covenant fulfilled the tenets of the Law but not the spirit of the Law, a rest day is still required. Jews, who had become followers of Christ, agreed to meet on the first day of the week to celebrate Christ. This was Sunday. The Sabat was still the Jewish rest day according to Old Covenant Law. Paul speaks on such observances should not be legalistic, but calls us meet together and more so as the times grow short. So, you can observe the Sabat as a day of rest and relationship with God or Sunday, or any other day, as long as we, the brethren, meet.
In my humble opinion the answer is no. The reason lies in the New Testament teachings, particularly those of Jesus and the apostles. Jesus emphasized that He is the âLord of the Sabbathâ (Mark 2:28), and His ministry often challenged the legalistic interpretations of the Sabbath law. In the New Testament, the focus shifts from observing specific days to living in the freedom that Christ brings.
While the Sabbath day has historical and spiritual significance, it is not something Christians are required to observe in the same way as it was under the Old Covenant.
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Quite honestly, I have many issues with SDA. They condemn over a billion Christian for going to Church on Sunday claiming Sunday worship is the Mark of the beast. This is my first day here and I can assure you that if these forums are loaded with SDAâS - Iâm outta here! I can stand their judgmentalism.
Iâd say âno.â Exodus 31:13-14 explicitly states that the sabbath is a sign between God and Israel. Paul said to the Gentile believers in Romans 14:5 âIn the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.â
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Iâm not sure if there are any here to be honest. However, the SDA do not have exclusivity on this topic. There are plenty of other people who hold to keeping the Sabbath.
The real, biblical Sabbath is sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, which is observed by observant Jews to this day. The early Christians celebrated and rested on Sunday, the Lordâs day, on which he rose from the dead.
I was a missionary in the Arabian Gulf and our weekend there was Thursday-Friday, so we had church on Friday. As Christians we have flexibility because we have died to the Law and now live according to our relationship with our Father!
As I said in answer to a question about tattoos:
Read Genesis 17:9-14, and note how absolute it is.
Now read Galatians and see Paulâs response to people who saw that and thought that Christians needed to be circumcised. We have died to the Law, and have been adopted as Godâs beloved children! The paradigm has changed from obedience to the Law, to our relationship with our Father and loving our neighbors.
A rest day is good for us, but the particular day of the week is not an issue - so if someone (a pastor, for example, or an ER doctor) has to work on weekends but has another day off, thatâs perfectly fine.
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In Exodus 31 verse 12, Yehoveh God, gives Moses the instruction to once again reminding the people of the important nature of the Sabbath in verse 13 where most Bibles will say, however, or nevertheless, or you shall keep my Sabbaths, the Hebrew word being translated is AKH. A translation other than however, or you shall that better captures the sense of it in our American mindset might be above all. That is this is a reminder from God that in all the business that is going to transpire with the building of the tabernacle and the altars and the making of the priest garments and so on that, nothing is more important to God than keeping the Sabbath.
What is clear in this section? Is that the rationale for observing, the Sabbath law is not so much that it is associated with the covenant of Moses, rather it is associated with creation. It is the creation narrative of Genesis, where we find the Lord, including his creative work, and then declaring the following day to be set apart as holy, As we find in Genesis chapter 2.
The idea here is that God ordained a day to celebrate the ceasing of his creative activities and the form of the celebration amounted to men ceasing our normal work, our creative activity. But itâs not that the Lord has ordained something new here at Mount Sinai in making a Sabbath day or making it something only for Israel. Rather he says you must keep my Sabbath in other words. Sabbath was created a long time ago for all men to observe, but apparently men quit paying attention to the Sabbath. So the Lord says to Israel, you are to make a point of observing it because you are a people set apart for me. So you will be the example of what people should be doing on the seventh day Shabbat, and this is Resting from their normal activities and being with their families and worshiping the Lord.
God has instructed above everything else the Sabbath is to be observed. Yet here in our time most believers claiming that Paul has instructed us that the Sabbath is obsolete or an observance that isnât for Christians. Now We somehow have been Given latitude to change it to whatever is most convenient for us. Where does this idea come from? It is that the Old Testament is old and the New Testament is new, so the new replaces the old. Never mind that the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, the exact opposite, that not one jot or title, not the smallest detail would pass from the Torah, until heaven and earth pass away, and nothing could be a more central teaching to the Torah (Old Testament) Then the Sabbath.
And no, we cannot get out of the Sabbath issue just because God says the Sabbath is a perpetual covenant between Israel and him, because the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that when we accept our Messiah Yeshua,(Jesus), we become part of a group called true Israel, we become spiritual seeds of Abraham, we are joined to Israelâs covenants and all their blessings and obligations, in the most real way there is, spiritually.
There was simply a context in which the Jews did not work on the Sabbath, and the Lord Jesus Christ provided them with an example: if your donkey falls into a pit, will you not pull it out? This means that good deeds can be done on the Sabbath. I believe that rest is necessary, along with reading, studying, and doing good deeds.
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Good Farid⌠Jesus made it clear, that it was the principle that was important, not the practice. His example helps us understand that when simple principles become complex lists of laws and rules, it serves no one-- neither God nor man, and in fact men become slaves to the rules they themselves make. The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
And the principle was simple. Remember when you were slaves in Egypt? (and you had to work like dogs seven days a week just to survive). That wasnât right.emphasized text
Do you remember, my friend, when the Israelites complained about Moses and God, saying they only ate manna and quail? They reminisced about the slavery in Egypt, where they ate onions and garlic, and yet they saw God day and night seven days a week!
Thatâs been an argument/position from the very concept of Christianity! Those that do not want to follow after the HebrewsâŚis a personal choice!
Those that care enough to follow what Lord God did while He was Here on Earth, knowâŚlistening to what the Power of Holy Spirit is saying to usâŚshould be our greatest concernâŚnot a religious argument between Hebrews-Jews-Christians! We must be willing to follow what Father God has saidâŚnot what some religion saysâŚAnd if there is any doubt that Lord God (Genesis 2:4) is the the Son,then we are more likely to accept those religious argumentsâŚAfter all? Lord God-Jesus followed every command His Father ever gave-out of pure deficated loveâŚand not some excuse for not obey His commandmentsâŚAfter all,bSaturday is the Sabath-Seventh day of (rest) the week and Sunday is the First Day! That is Godâs decisionâŚnot mine! Wether you worship God 24/7 days a week is your choiceâŚas long as you hear the Word of God, from HimâŚnot me, them, or any man! STP.
re: âThe early Christians celebrated and rested on SundayâŚâ
Just so itâs understood that scripture is silent about anyone doing that.
Acts 20:7 NET
[7] On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, âŚ
âAlthough Christians meeting for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday for Gentiles) dates back to Acts and is historically mentioned around 115 AD, Constantineâs edict was the start of many more Christians observing only Sunday and not the Sabbath.[12] Patristic writings attest that by the second century, it had become commonplace to celebrate the Eucharist in a corporate day of worship on the first day.[14] A Church Father, Eusebius, who became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about AD 314, stated that for Christians, âthe sabbath had been transferred to Sundayâ.[15]â
Sabbath in Christianity - Wikipedia.
âAccording to Beckwith, Christians held corporate worship on Sunday in the 1st century[3] (First Apology, chapter 67).â
Greetings
Sabbath Vs Sunday
the Sunday is for those who are catholic separating the Sabbath day.
the Sabbath is the 7 day, Sunday to them if I may, is to separate the G - D of Sabbath and change to Sunday, I hope at least to give you a little understanding amen
NealKaloupek,
âActs 20:7 NETâŚOn the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul began to speak to the people, and because he intended to leave the next day, he extended his message until midnight.â
Actually, as far as scripture is concerned, there are only two times mentioned with regard to anybody getting together on the first (day) of the week - John 20:19 and Acts 20:7. There is never any mention of them ever again being together on the first. The John reference has them together in a closed room after the crucifixion because they were afraid of their fellow Jews. Nothing is said about a worship service or day of rest. And it couldnât have been in recognition of the resurrection because at that time they didnât even believe that the resurrection had taken place.
And the Acts reference might very well have had them getting together to break bread with Paul because he happened to be in town and wanted to talk to them before he had to leave again. The âbreaking of breadâ can simply be saying that the disciples got together to eat a meal on this particular first day of the week. The phrase, âto break breadâ, does not have to refer to a religious service - unless it is specifically stated - but to dividing loaves of bread for a meal. âIt means to partake of food and is used of eating as in a meal⌠The readers [of the original New Testament letters and manuscripts] could have had no other idea or meaning in their mindsâ (E.W.Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, pp. 839,840.
But even if the breaking of bread mentioned always did refer to the Lordâs Supper, it had nothing to do with placing a special emphasis on the first (day) because Acts 2:46 says that they broke bread every day.
Nothing in the verse suggests that observance of the Sabbath had been transferred to the first day of the week. So, itâs really not appropriate as a proof text for the change.
Granted - the Acts passage may be an indication of the change, but itâs not absolutely clear.
However, historically Christians have been gathering on Sunday, âthe Lordâs Dayâ, since at least the 2nd century or before. In about 155 AD Justin Martyr âprovides information on the weekly Sunday meetings of the congregation, consisting of readings from the Jewish prophets and âthe memoirs of the apostlesâ, prayers, and a meal.[17]â
But actually it doesnât matter! As Christians we have died to the Law (Romans 7:4) so it doesnât matter on which day we gather together; the important thing is that we do worship together. Also see my answer above: What Day is the Sabbath? Do we still need to keep it? - #7 by NealKaloupek
Agree. I was merely pointing out that scripturally nothing is said about anyone observing the first day of the week for rest and worship, much less in recognition of the resurrection, just in case there may be someone here who thinks that there is.
While I agree with the premise in general, I think a good argument can be made that the decision to gather on any day of the week was a repudiation of the temple/orthodox religious system that required sabbath keeping on a specific day and time. It was a rejection of the entire temple schtick by early Christians who worshipped freely apart from religious rules and requirements as stipulated by the Law and rulemakers.
GWTJ is simply the time when all or perhaps almost all the dead will be resurrected back to life out of the graves, seas, dust or rematerialised as they were in life and hear their life score is recorded in the Book of Life. If their name is in they get to live on a renewed Paradise Earth with Jesus. If itâs not in they get instantly dematerialised to nothing for ever.
No Muslim, Jew, Catholic, JW, Hindu, Buddhist, Mormon, pagan, atheist or agnostic will find their name in the book.